ABSTRACT
After the death of a great religious authority, it is usually almost impossible to find a similarly charismatic leader. In the case of Christianity, this can be evidenced by Pope Benedict XVI. After the death of John Paul II, the new pope was frequently compared to his extremely successful predecessor and could hardly transcend him. Although rabbinical succession does not technically have much in common with the power of the pope, the deaths of great rabbis, such as Elazar Menachem Shach, represent in the minds of faithful Jews a loss of ‘a spiritual father’ that is similar to the loss of an outstanding spiritual leader for Christians or members of any other religious community.
